Trail head:Holiday Inn, Henderson, NV
Mileage: 313 miles
Description:
I woke up around 6:40. Did my normal checking for lightning around our lookouts-none. Then I started pondering: did I bring one particular medicine? The answer is no, but this was only determined after I called Steven up.
Breakfast at the Holiday Inn is satisfying. Then I talked with Kaiser about filling an emergency prescription in Nevada or Utah. They do not have facilities there, so we will go to a Costco in Orem and pick it up tomorrow. We leave the hotel at 9:30 and stop at Costco for gas. Glad we got a few gallons in Tehachapi yesterday.
Smoke is getting to be a concern. All the maps show the air getting worse in Utah and Wyoming. As we talk with Rachel, Andrea and Lawrence, we think about alternative plans to Grand Teton. It does not sound great in the Northwest corner of Wyoming, but we will see a bit more tonight.
During the conversation, I must not have been paying attention to the traffic signs. When I figure out we are heading west towards the edge of Las Vegas. We circle back around and get on I-15 heading north. Will this trip be one where this happens regularly? Missing turns and heading off into parts unknown?
The only redeeming part of I-15 during this part of our travels through Nevada is that it is fast. We went through Arizona, ditto on that, at least until we entered the Virgin River Gorge. That has got to be one of the top ten highway segments in the United States. Each time I go through it, I am mesmerized by the sheerness of the walls and how they constructed the highway without blasting away much of it. Today the Virgin River looked anemic-all green, pretty slow and very shallow. You just wonder what that river was like in its prime.
Upon exiting, we come into St George. More gas at Costco, as well as a hot dog lunch. We also got some essentials such as bread, granola, salted chocolate caramels, Keto cups, and chocolate coated coconut. And then it is back to the highway. My doctor’s office calls and wants to know where to send the prescription. I am driving, but I had told the advice nurse that information. But it gives me a chance to redirect it to Salt Lake City. We stop in Leeds,UT, where Verizon does not have a good connection. But outside of Leeds, I am able to complete giving them the information.
We had decided with it being over 100 degrees, Zion was no place to hike. But maybe Cedar Breaks above Cedar City is. I over shot the road up to Cedar Breaks and then had to backtrack a mile. We get on the right road, Highway 14 and start our climb.
The road climbs steeply. At one place, we get some good views of the cliffs of Cedar Breaks. I have always looked down at them, so it is a different view of them. But I know the best views are to come. Cedar Breaks is close to an elevation of 10,000’. So the temperatures are much cooler, really human tolerant-of course, during the Winter it is a different story. It has been years since I have been up here. I think the last time was with Andrea, Cross-Country Skiing. Today there is no snow around, so no need to have skis on.
 |
| View from Pt Supreme |
We stopped at the park office, got a set of 2021 passport stamps, then talked with a ranger. We proceed to do a tour de overlooks. we do the following:
We drove by the Chessmen Overview before we saw the sign for it. Probably just as well as we are running out of time. All of the overviews provide different perspectives. The scenes are somewhat subdued with the smoke having invaded below us. The smoke is worse lower down, still there is a hazy look to the natural reds, oranges. whites. and purples of the cliffs. At the North Overview, we met a couple who tells of a couple more places to explore in this area of Utah:
 |
| Sherri at Pt Supreme |
By now it is after 5. The second long day of driving and we still should go a ways more. We had better be going. We go past Brian Head. The road down is interesting. Interesting, such as I do not think that Lawrence and Andrea would not want to go down this road with their trailer. It still is a road which is interesting (fun) to drive.
Once we get back to I-15, we start trying to find a place to stay for tonight. There is a Best Western in Nephi. When Sherri called them-the web site said they could do better on the phone than on the web site, they quoted a price of $40 more than the Internet price. Frustrating. So we continued on.
 |
| View of Smoke along I-15 |
Sherri found a Comfort Inn in Fillmore, UT. Seems like a good price. It is still an hour’s drive more, but that just means an hour less tomorrow. We got there safely. The hotel is not bad, but after last night’s Holiday Inn, it just seems a bit of a let down. Maybe I am being a bit hypersensitive, but it appears the concern over COVID is not as strong here as elsewhere. The hotel staff were mostly unmasked.
For dinner, we ate out-Burger King. Nothing to write home about. When we got back to the room, we had our family Zoom call. The main topic is smoke, particularly, how is it at Grand Teton. After thinking long and hard about it, Rachel and Edrees decide not to come. Probably for the best, but it is disappointing. I was looking forward to having most of the family there-Steven needed to work. Time for bed.
Background
Trip Advisor: Comfort Inn. The facility is OK and we got a good night's sleep. But there are some knocks I have on this place. First, you could hear noise from the hallways, particularly doors opening and closing. Second, the breakfast is really basic-a “to go” bag-I think this is a COVID accommodation. Lastly, there seemed to be a lack of concern about COVID. Few of the staff were masked-the reception person was behind plexiglass. As far as the hotel is concerned, the room was clean and the bed was comfortable.
Extra Photo's
 |
| View from North Point |
 |
| View from North Point |
 |
| View from North Point |
 |
| Sunset Pt and the Amphitheater |
 |
| Sunset Pt and the Amphitheater |
 |
| View from Pt Supreme |
 |
| Looking up to Cedar Breaks |
No comments:
Post a Comment